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While the summer months are the time when auto factories close for their “summer shut down,” these months are also the time when the next generation of Americans look to begin their career and build work experience. With the unemployment rate at just 4.4 percent nationally (the lowest level since 4.3 percent from this April), the job market for young people is better than it has been in years—but still not what it used to be, pre-recession. Young people represent another group of the workforce that could benefit from continued sustained expansion.

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This first jobs report of this summer provides a window in the labor market for young people, whether they are teens seeking to get a toehold in the job market and bring badly needed income into their families, or young adults entering the critical early years of their careers.

Figure 2

Young Adult Employment

The summer is also a good time to take stock of the job markets for young adults, entering the workforce after graduating college or high school. Unemployment among young people continued at alarming levels throughout the early years of the recovery, with major implications for lifetime earnings, student debt, and family formation.

The situation for young college graduates has improved markedly. The unemployment rate for young college graduates (four-year institutions) stood at 6.9 percent in June, one percentage point lower than 7.9 percent recorded in June 2016—and much improved from 9.9 percent in June 2012.

Unemployment among young people ages 20–24 that have no college credential is still severe—around 10 percent. But this is an improvement from pre-recession levels: In 2000, unemployment among young adults with high school degrees was pushed down to 7.5 percent. Still, as Figure 3 shows, a true full employment economy could do even more for lesser educated adults.

The importance of these early experiences can’t be understated. When young adults without formal post secondary education remain employed, they have a better chance of early career on the job training. Small wage gains from such training can compound over a lifetime.

This summer, young people are benefiting from the best job market for early career workers in memory. But we can do better than 10 percent.

This summer, young people are benefiting from the best job market for early career workers in memory. But we can do better than 10 percent. There’s perhaps no stronger argument for continued support of a robust recovery than the vision of even lower unemployment rates for young adults.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 4 contrasts this summer with other recent summer seasons. During the recession, young college graduates faced major barriers to getting that first job. Since then, the unemployment rate has dropped steadily to this year’s 3.9 percent—with young college graduates doing better than the national average. High school graduates are now at the same point they were at in the summer of 2007, but behind the pace of our last true full employment economy. Like in other good economic times (2000, 2007, 2014–2016), the unemployment gap between college and high school graduates has significantly narrowed.

Policy Alternatives: Summer Job Guarantees and Training Programs

What kinds of policies could mitigate both the cyclical and structural unemployment young people face? For teens, guaranteed summer jobs programs could be a start. In times of flagging demand or in communities where jobs are scarce even when the economy is booming, a robust summer jobs program can make up for chronically low levels of teen employment among low-income youth. Cities like New York have summer employment programs that have proven to be a successful means of earning some money and acquiring skills for hundreds of NYC youth, but summer youth employment programs are far from ubiquitous across the country.

…a robust summer jobs program can make up for chronically low levels of teen employment among low-income youth.

For young adults, particularly those with less than a college degree, training programs and apprenticeships could connect workers with well-paying jobs while giving them skills they need to build a rewarding career. Partnerships with government, schools and training institutes, unions, and employers can make apprenticeship an essential tool in building a High Wage America.

Monica is a MS candidate in social policy and data analytics at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice. There, she participates in the Penn Public Policy Challenge as well as the Penn Data Science Group. Originally from Canada, Monica holds a BS in psychology and sexual diversity studies from the University of Toronto; she has also worked as a senior policy analyst at both the Ministry of Community and Social Services as well as the Ministry of Children and Youth Services in Toronto. At The Century Foundation, she will be working with the labor and economics teams on a variety of projects aimed at reducing economic inequity and advancing the rights and protections of America’s workers.